Sat, Nov 09, 2013 - Page 11

The fines for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol are heavy. A man surnamed Lai who was pulled over by police to be given a breath alcohol test in the wee hours of the morning on March 2, unexpectedly hid in a grocery store, pretending to be visiting a friend, and then snuck out the back and broke into a residential area. When he was found, he said his stomach hurt and locked himself inside a restroom. After the police spent a total of 47 minutes trying to apprehend Lai, he was given a NT$90,000 fine for refusing to take a breath test, and the Hsinchu District Court turned down the administrative litigation he had filed.

Lai said that on the morning of March 2 he went to a grocery store in Hsinchu County to visit a friend and consumed some booze there because he was in a bad mood. He never thought that a police officer would come into the store, accuse him of driving a scooter under the influence and ask him to take a breath test. Lai assumed that the officer was breaking the law, so he refused to take the breath test and was given a ticket. Then he decided to file charges against the police because he was dissatisfied.

The police said that the officer, while administering roadside breath alcohol tests, noticed that Lai was riding his scooter without a helmet, so the officer went to pull him over and investigate, which was when Lai refused to take the breath test, turned away and entered a nearby grocery store. Taking advantage of a loophole, Lai snuck out the back and hid in a residential area.

The officer ran into the community looking for Lai, who was still unwilling to cooperate, saying his stomach was upset and needed to use the restroom. Then Lai locked himself inside the toilet of a security office. The officer asked a security officer to bring the key to open the toilet. The entire process of detaining Lai took 47 minutes, but Lai still refused to take the breath test.

The judge said that Lai’s statement in which he denies riding the scooter was fallacious, served only to shirk responsibility and failed to prove that he was not drinking prior to riding the scooter, so he was still fined NT$90,000 and had his license revoked.